2025-06 World Microbiome Day 2025

EU Specialty Food Ingredients is pleased to join today the celebrations of World Microbiome Day 2025.

The human gut microbiome plays an important role not only in digestion, but in many other aspects of wellbeing and health. There are several groups of specialty food ingredients which contribute to balanced gut health. Besides probiotics, which are probably the most know specialty food ingredients in relation to gut microbiome, there are other specialty food ingredients such as prebiotics, which have a beneficial effect on microbiome and represent another dietary strategy for modulating the gut microbiota.

The EU Specialty Food Ingredients’ brochure  ‘Selected Specialty Food Ingredients & their benefits for gut microbiome and health’, explains that prebiotics are defined by the Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics as a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit. The definition was recently further elaborated and new criteria derived from the definition were articulated in order help to decide whether an ingredient meets all aspects of the prebiotic definition.

These new developments are currently being discussed in a dedicated Working Group established under EU Specialty Food Ingredients’ Nutrition Committee, and a new brochure on prebiotics for EU Specialty Food Ingredients’ members is being developed.  

An overview of all the selected specialty food ingredients that can support a balanced gut health: fibre, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and postbiotics, is available in the EU Specialty Food Ingredients infographic: ‘Benefits of selected specialty food ingredients for gut health’.